Salalah winter stores job opportunities for locals

“We are aware of the demand. Our objective is to offer quality jobs to the visiting tourists.

As such we issue guide licences only to those who have qualities based on the committee standards,” said Rawas bin Hafeidh al Rawas, Assistant Director-general for Tourism Development and Investor Services.

He admitted that the scope is there but insisted on quality. “We are open for any kind of training to keep the quality bar high for the sector,” he said.

A manager of one of the ground handlers in Salalah insisted that Salalah has potential for tourism jobs.

“Most of the people here think only about khareef season, which lasts for three months. No denying the fact that it attracts a large number of tourists, but equally important is winter season, which lasts for about eight months from October to May,” he said.

He also cited a situation when on some days charter and cruise tourists come in large numbers.

“There are days when there 2,000 plus cruise tourists and similar from the charters.

“We have to struggle for guides, as it is obligatory on us to take care of our guests and cover most of the sites within stipulated time,” he said.

Ahmed bin Said al Afri, Manager of Zahra Tours in Salalah, admitted high demand for experienced tourist guides because the tourists love to interact with local guides, as they feel that Omani guides have authentic information about the country.

He insisted that learning a language is far easier than doing a long-term course, but for him learning a language is a better option.

Being an Omani, a local guide has natural access to much needed information that an outsider cannot have.

“That information comes to us without any effort. Brushing up some factual information and knowing a new language like Italian or German can make a big difference in terms of expertise and earnings,” said Al Afri, and insisted that young Omanis should fill this gap.